Several hundred veterans and their families turned out for Veterans Day breakfast on board LST 325 on Monday morning, Nov. 11, 2013. The veterans shared stories and also learned about the ship.

KEVIN SWANK / Courier & Press
Mike Zupan, an Army veteran and a volunteer for the breakfast, left, talks to George Mitchell, retired Navy, from West Virginia, center, and Vernon Walker, an Air Force veteran from Evansville, right, on the deck of LST 325 as the LST 325 Ship Memorial served a complimentary breakfast on board the ship Monday morning.

Kevin Swank, The Evansville Courier & Press

EVANSVILLE - Working from the same galley that fed sailors during World War II, volunteers aboard the LST 325 served a Veterans Day breakfast to about 700 veterans and their families.

Browning Funeral Home has sponsored the event for seven years. Browning's staff, the LST 325 crew, University of Southern Indiana students and others prepared the meal. WIKY-104.1FM also is a sponsor.

For veterans on hand, the gesture was appreciated, and, they said, reflective of a grateful nation.

"I'm surprised at the turnout here," said Don Mueller, who moved to Evansville recently and was a first-time attendee of the breakfast.

Mueller was a career man in the Air Force — 26 years in all. He was an aerial photographer for 13 years, and after college, he spent 13 more years managing military transportation facilities, mostly in the Southeast.

As an aerial photographer, Mueller was in Vietnam and many other countries. He said the reverence that many citizens show veterans today is in marked contrast to the Vietnam era.

"When I went through Vietnam, it wasn't like this. To see it like this today is very heartwarming."

Ron Lyles of Evansville was in the Army from 1967 to 1969, and he said the annual breakfast and other tributes show "how things are beginning to turn around."

Although classes were in session on Monday at USI, about 40 students from ROTC, the rugby team and other organizations worked the breakfast. Angelica Nevins, a student from Nashville, Ind., is the daughter of a Navy veteran.

"I came today out of respect," Nevins said. "Plus, I'm a social work major, and I like to give back as much as a I can. Community service is very important."

Browning Funeral Home also takes the annual event seriously, said funeral director Brian Jewell. He noted the event is powered entirely by volunteers.

Gina Moore sang the Star Spangled Banner, and Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, while greeting the audience, noted the upcoming expiration of the LST 325's lease with the city.

The LST's 10-year agreement to moor at Marina Pointe expires in May 2015. There have been several negotiations on a new deal, although the ship's board has said other cities have shown interest and will be considered.

"We want to keep them here for years to come," Winnecke said of the LST. "As we celebrate today, we want you to know the city looks forward to nothing more than signing an extension to that contract in the coming months."

Terry Tull, one of the LST 325's nine board members, said Monday's breakfast brought an impressive turnout. Tull served on an LST while in the Navy.

"We enjoy Evansville," said Tull, who lives in Center Point, Iowa. "It's been a good port for us."